Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 71595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“But I l-let myself get drunk.”
“It’s a goukon, for heaven’s sake. Everyone’s supposed to get drunk, and so what if you are? Just because you’re drunk doesn’t mean you’re inviting anyone to rape you—-”
“I j-just hate the way I keep making everyone worry about me.”
“Making other people worry doesn’t mean you’re weak. You’re not an idiot. Deep inside, you know that. You know. When other people worry you, it only means they care for you.”
“Yuki doesn’t.” The words are out before I can stop myself.
Silence.
God, I’m so pathetic.
“Actually...” Lace’s voice is odd. “He does.”
I stare at my phone. Was that a joke? Or have I unknowingly fallen into some kind of Twilight Zone where all things that should be are the opposite?
“KC?”
“Y-yeah?”
“You heard me, didn’t you?”
“I did.” My tone is numb. “I just didn’t think you’d joke about something like that.”
“It’s not a—-”
“He cheated on me,” I cry out. “Have you forgotten that?”
“No.” Lace’s tone was quiet. “Of course I haven’t. But you don’t know all there is to it. When you came back home, didn’t you think it was a little too coincidental that your parents just happened to be there and they didn’t bother asking you too many questions when you told them you and Yuki have broken up for good?”
“They knew it would hurt me too much to talk about it—-”
“No, KC.” Lace’s voice is flat. “It’s not that.”
I close my eyes.
“And if you really let yourself think about it—-”
I see myself in my mind, a pale, shaking mess as I stumble back to our place, my parents jerking to their feet. Honey, what happened? You look like you’re in shock.
“He set the whole thing up,” Lace whispers.
I see myself sobbing in my mom’s arms. It’s Yuki, Mom. We’ve broken up.
“As soon as you left his home, he called your parents, told them he had done something unforgivable so you’d leave him and stop...worrying about him.”
I can almost feel the warmth of Kelly’s embrace as my mom hugs me more tightly. Everything’s going to be alright, honey. These things happen for a reason.
“He asked...that they be there for you, to make sure you’re okay, and to never...never let you think of him in a good way.”
I will the memories to stop coming, but they’re too much. Don’t even think about talking to him, baby. He cheated on you. Talking to him only means you want him back despite what he did. Is that the kind of girl you are?
When I open my eyes, I’m no longer surprised I’m crying. “Did you know about all of this from the start?” I ask jerkily.
“Not from the start.” Lace swallows audibly. “Remember that time your mom had to come to our lab for a couple of tests?”
“Yes.”
“That’s when she told me about what Yuki did, and that she believed...” Lace cuts herself off.
“L-Lace?”
“S-She thought it was time.” And now, Lace is crying, too. “She thinks you’ve changed. T-thinks you’ve grown up, and I saw it, too. The past year...”
I close my eyes, and I remember Jason knocking on my room, telling me in a hoarse voice that he has something to tell me about Kelly.
“The things that happened to you...”
I remember looking around me one last time before moving out of the only place I’ve called home for the past twenty years, remember thinking that...it’s just a house, and it can burn down for all I care, if it could make things right.
“And you never lost your smile—-”
And most of all, I remember seeing Jason on the floor, weeping, and all I can do was hug my dad and whisper, It’s going to be okay, Dad. It’s going to be okay. We can’t lose hope.
The memory fades.
And the moment is completely ruined when Lace suddenly blows her nose.
“Lace!” But I’m laughing and crying at the same time.
“I can’t help it,” Lace half-snarls just before blowing her nose again. “I don’t like it when snot gets in my mouth.”
“Gross.”
“Exactly.”
And this time, we both laugh, and we cry, too, and even though it still hurts, just talking to Lace has reminded me of what I foolishly forgot the moment Yuki walked back into my life. My life...is good. The people I love...are still alive. Even if Yuki never comes back, I still have more than I can ask for.
“Thank you for telling me the truth, Lace.” But when Lace doesn’t speak, a ball of dread forms in my stomach, and I ask haltingly, “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“After your mom told me about Yuki, that’s when I started thinking it was time you guys met again. But because I also knew you would never accept any kind of help from my family—-” Lace’s voice becomes a little sulky in the end.
“You know why I can’t, Lace,” I say softly. “Your family’s already helped us so much.”